European startup funding H1 2026
Half-year report · 2026-01-01 – 2026-06-30 · vs H2 2025
Half-year
Summary
auto-generatedIn H1 2026, 1,757 rounds were recorded and disclosed equity funding (excluding debt and grants) reached €38B, up 29.2% versus H2 2025. Debt rounds added a further €8.7B.
Deal count moved -3.3% versus H2 2025, with 3,821 named investors participating.
UK led by equity raised with €14B (38.0% of equity).
AI was the most-funded sector at €5.3B in equity (13.9%).
The ten largest rounds accounted for 32.4% of disclosed capital, led by InPost's €2.8B.
252 exits were recorded this half-year worth a combined €9.2B.
Equity funding
€38B
▲ +29.2%excl. debt & grants · +€8.7B debt
Funding rounds
1,757
▼ -3.3%Companies funded
1,722
▼ -2.9%Named investors
3,821
▼ -2.6%Exits
252
▼ -37.6%Provenance: 89% of 1,757 rounds disclosed an amount · 94% of priced rounds are high-confidence · EUR totals reconcile to ECB at-date within -0.01%
Methodology →Investments
Funding within H1 2026
by monthFunding within H1 2026 — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | Deals | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | €5.0B | 289 |
| Feb | €11B | 302 |
| Mar | €7.5B | 298 |
| Apr | €5.1B | 302 |
| May | €11B | 265 |
| Jun | €8.3B | 301 |
Biggest deals
top 10 by amount- 1InPostOther · Poland · Feb 2026€2.8B
- 2Pure Data Centres (Pure DC)Debt · UK · May 2026€2.3B
- 3Isomorphic LabsSeries B · UK · May 2026€1.8B
- 4NscaleSeries C · UK · Mar 2026€1.7B
- 5Neura RoboticsSeries C · Germany · Jun 2026€1.2B
- 6Stegra (H2 Green Steel)Other · Sweden · Apr 2026€1.2B
- 7NscaleDebt · UK · Feb 2026€1.2B
- 8ClooverDebt · Germany · Jan 2026€1.0B
- 9WayveSeries D+ · UK · Feb 2026€1.0B
- 10EutelsatDebt · France · Feb 2026€1.0B
Concentration
top 10 deals32.4%
of disclosed capital came from the ten largest rounds.
Top 10 total
€15B
Period total
€47B
Countries
Top countries
equity raisedH1 2026 — top countries — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2026 — top countries | |
|---|---|
| UK | €14B |
| Germany | €5.2B |
| France | €3.8B |
| Poland | €2.9B |
| Sweden | €2.7B |
| Netherlands | €1.8B |
| Spain | €1.4B |
| Switzerland | €1.1B |
| Belgium | €1.1B |
| Finland | €931M |
Capital by country
share of equityH1 2026 — capital by country — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2026 — capital by country | |
|---|---|
| UK | €14B |
| Germany | €5.2B |
| France | €3.8B |
| Poland | €2.9B |
| Sweden | €2.7B |
| Netherlands | €1.8B |
| Spain | €1.4B |
| Switzerland | €1.1B |
| Belgium | €1.1B |
| Finland | €931M |
| Other | €2.6B |
Geographic distribution
European countries shown · click a countryH1 2026 — geographic distribution — interactive chart.
Industries
Top sectors
equity raisedH1 2026 — top sectors — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2026 — top sectors | |
|---|---|
| AI | €5.3B |
| Transportation | €4.7B |
| Healthtech | €4.1B |
| Software | €3.9B |
| Fintech | €3.5B |
| Cleantech | €1.8B |
| Cloud | €1.7B |
| Robotics | €1.6B |
| Deeptech | €1.6B |
| Semiconductors | €1.6B |
Capital by sector
share of equityH1 2026 — capital by sector — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2026 — capital by sector | |
|---|---|
| AI | €5.3B |
| Transportation | €4.7B |
| Healthtech | €4.1B |
| Software | €3.9B |
| Fintech | €3.5B |
| Cleantech | €1.8B |
| Cloud | €1.7B |
| Robotics | €1.6B |
| Other | €12B |
Stages
Funding by stage
total euro raised by round typeH1 2026 — funding by stage — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | €387M |
| Seed | €3.2B |
| Series A | €3.2B |
| Series B | €4.4B |
| Series C | €4.9B |
| Series D+ | €5.9B |
| Growth/Late | €423M |
| Debt | €8.7B |
| Grant | €282M |
| Crowdfunding | €4.2M |
| Other | €16B |
Exits
Exit activity
252
exits recorded
€9.2B
combined disclosed value
Exits breakdown
by typeH1 2026 — exits by type — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2026 — exits by type | |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | 238 |
| Merger | 14 |